PROJECT-SUPPORT COLOMBIA

Foundation Presencia, Basel, Switzerland

Country / Place

Colombia, Medellín

Colombia (officially República de Colombia; short form Colombia, derived from Christopher Columbus) is a republic in the northern part of South America and the second most populous state in South America. It borders both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, and on the mainland Panama to the northwest, Venezuela to the east, Brazil to the southeast, Peru to the south, and Ecuador to the southwest. The city of Bogotá is the economic and cultural centre of Colombia and the country's capital.

Medellín is the capital of the Department of Antioquia in Colombia and has about 2.6 million inhabitants. The city is known as the "City of Eternal Spring", due to its year-round sunny and warm climate.

General

The Foundation Presencia has been supporting children and young people with their families in the poorest areas of the Colombian city of Medellín for 40 years. In close cooperation with local professionals, they open up perspectives for them to lead a self-determined life. The professionals are well trained and highly motivated. They are also very familiar with the local social, political, and economic conditions.

Beneficiaries

Presencia is active where poverty and violence shape people's everyday lives. With social, educational and prevention programmes, they address the living conditions in poor neighbourhoods. Sustainable support begins in childhood and only ends when people enter working life. This is why local professionals provide targeted and comprehensive support to young people, from their school years to their entry into the workforce. It is also very important to always include the families of young people. Local experts are currently supporting around 700 young people.

Only a completed apprenticeship opens up a promising start into working life for young people and thus a self-determined future. The Foundation Presencia offers beneficiaries a vocational apprenticeship in a training workshop or a scholarship at a university after completing their regular schooling. In doing so, they aim not only to impart job-relevant and social skills, but also to promote personal responsibility and independence.

Project-support

Social Support Project 2023 - 2025

The aim of the social accompaniment project is to provide children and young people with comprehensive support in their educational, personal, and family development, so that they remain in the school system, complete their schooling, and then go on to complete an apprenticeship. With the completion of an apprenticeship and successful vocational integration, the beneficiaries are given a perspective for the future. This work makes an important contribution to combating unemployment and poverty.

Currently the Foundation Presencia cares for 330 children and young people in its social accompaniment project. All beneficiaries come from the poor neighbourhoods in the district of "San Antonio de Prado" on the south-western outskirts of Medellín, Colombia.